Riverway Plumbing

Prompt and knowledgeable.

Was very satisfied with the responsiveness, price and quality of the installation. Would use services again.

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Plumber misdiagnosed the problem and replaced a part that he thought was causing the problem. Problem was not fixed so my husband replaced the whole toilet himself.

This past Christmas (December 2016) I was on vacation with my son in Washington State when the faucet developed another leak and flooded the whole area around it before my wife noticed it and called me. I had her call Neil Patzner and tell him that the faucet he had repaired last year was leaking again we needed someone to come repair it. He told her that he had told me last year that the repair he had made might not hold because it needed further work, and that he had difficulty in getting paid by me last time and would not come out to work on this again for me. This was totally untrue. If he had told me at the time that the repair required more work I would have had him do the work. I wanted my faucet FIXED, not taped up with a band aid repair. I would never have agreed to any fix that was considered temporary. So, I called him myself and he tried to tell me that he had warned me that it might leak again. I reminded him that I was not there when he finished the work and that the only other conversation we had about the work was when we discussed the payment and I praised him for being so fast and efficient (I have the text messages to prove this) He then started saying that he had a hard time getting paid by me and I reminded him that while there was a check that was apparently lost in the mail that I had been staying in consistent touch with him and had been just as concerned about making sure that he got paid as he was about getting paid (again the text messages prove this). I had asked him to wait for the check for a few extra days before cancelling it and reissuing payment to him in person. At first, he refused to come out to work on the faucet and demanded to be paid up front. I think he was afraid that I would not pay him, as I had already paid him for one faulty repair on this faucet and really he should have been fixing his original shoddy work without expecting payment. But I was in no position to do anything but try to get someone to cease the water that was leaking at my business. He continued to demand immediate payment. I told him I was in no position to pay him immediately, as I was in Washington State and my wife did not have access to the business account that this would be paid from. After much arguing, we finally agreed that I would pay him via pay pal as soon as he finished and sent me an invoice by email. This was the only way he would go out and fix the job that he had apparently only temporarily ‘fixed’ in the spring. He sent two men out to do the job. They finished the job several hours later and he sent me a text with the amount of the bill ($ 527.36) but no invoice. I was out with my son at the time of the text and did not receive an email with the invoice. Shortly after the text, while my son and I were ordering our food in a restaurant he began trying to call me. I didn’t answer the phone because I was trying to place my order at a restaurant. He called and when I didn’t pick up he called and called and called again. He then sent me a text telling me that if he didn’t receive payment within 30 mins he was going to go out and tear out all of the work that had been done already. I had to step out of the restaurant to call him back. He was belligerent and rude and threatening. I paid the invoice via Pay Pal. If you are considering having Riverway Plumbing work on your residence or your business I would reconsider and check other options. Apparently they do not stand behind their work, and if you dare to question them about why the plumbing they fixed last year failed they will become angry and verbally abusive and likely do another shoddy repair job, Also the cost of my yard hydrant totals over $800.00 from this business.

So I don't want to completely badmouth the company. I bet these guys can probably handle run of the mill stuff all day (not sure you would want to pay that price). They have some redeeming qualities as I indicate above, especially responsiveness. I changed the job on them at the last second asking for extra work to be done and they dealt with almost all of it including hardware installations, that required same day part sourcing. So that is why I rated them an A in responsiveness. Here is where things get sticky. Price for product (caveat - I don't know prices, but backing out a really conservative estimate on hardware the hourly bill rate was ~$120 - Did I hire a doctor?) . I have an aging house so space and design are not optimal. I had a leaky drain pipe that caused water damage and an outbreak of mold. They diagnosed it as a leaky hose bib. So I ended up paying for hardware that I may not have needed (it was old), and that caused me to go ahead and pay for matching new hose bib for the other spout. However the misdiagnosis for the leaky drain tube just left me SOL. Still had sewage leak in the wall and conditions for mold. The second main job was the water heater. After they installed the water heater, occasionally my carbon monoxide detector in the adjacent room now goes off. The detector is less than 2.5 years old and prior to the install never went off... The closet door to the WH has an air transfer grate with the adjacent room. As part of the WH install they inserted a new 4 in. vent. So I suspect that this is probably the source. It's not a huge deal, bc it is infrequent enough not to be a cause for concern, and we monitor it closely. The final main service that I asked them for was to unclog a tub drain tube that is hard to get to as it is in a slab. The lead guy attempted to snake it, but ran into the same problem that I did, somehow unable to snake past some sort of blockage or impediment. His solution was to pour a chemical solvent down the tube... I don't need to pay a pro to do that, plus I'm pretty sure that is what caused the leak in the other drain tube. I would expect for a pro to have a few more tricks up their sleeve... Maybe that's just my inexperience talking. So all of these things by themselves seem reasonable. A) maybe I did have an old hose bib that seemed suspicious ( I still doubt that it leaked, but it was in need of a swap out.). B) Maybe it's just coincidence. Maybe this is just the nature of squeezing a larger water heater into these smaller old homes. C) Maybe the solvent was the only way to unclog that tub drain tube. But when I get all three of them in the same job? And they completely miss the actual leak? At that point I think it's safe to say that the job would not qualify as a professional job. I mean anybody could feel the leak if they just put their hand on the pipe. I did. That's how I, the layman, diagnosed the problem. I could feel the play in the metal. I pushed right through "solid metal" and created a 1.5 in hole with just one finger. Ok so does that merit a D overall grade? Even all of that stuff could have been chalked up to bad day, busy workload, or young inexperienced plumber. But the real killer on this job was the price tag... For all that and ~seven hours worth of work I ended up paying way too much. For $120 per hour I expect the best plumber in town. I understand that the grade may be harsh, and had a couple of things bounced the other way this would be a different review, but since I paid these guys this much money, I had no choice but to leave this review. Now a word of warning. Double check every piece of work that you pay for. I didn't. That's why I discovered the leak afterwards. At that point I had no more money, so I had to buckle down and learn how to do my own plumbing which took a lot of time. I just couldn't risk throwing any more money at potentially ineffective service. And it takes a while to learn how to cold chisel a drain tube out of a lead caulked joint and clean up the lead safely... It sounds like the type of job a pro should do, right?

This is the second time I have used Riverway. He arrived on-time and started working right away. he quickly let me know what needed to be done and about how long it was going to take. Very well done and professional. I highly recommend.

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Service preformed was above expectations.  

Neil was excellent - he arrived on time, explained the problems and fairly priced his work

We used Neil twice recently. We had a water pressure problem, he inspected and installed a water pressure valve which solved the problem completely. He also installed a kitchen faucet we had purchased. I highly recommend Riverway and will certainly use Neil for any future plumbing needs.

Excellent, prompt, affordable same day service!

This is the 2nd plumber I have used in this condo remodel.
The plumber and helper arrived on time.  They worked hard the entire time.  They were very professional and courteous.  The work was very high quality.
The bill was straight forward and very fair.  They didn't have any surprise charges.  I felt like it was an honest and fair exchange.
I highly recommend!

unknown

Neal was on-time, courteous, professional, knowledgeable.  Best price and quality service.  Would not hesitate to use again or refer Riverway Plumbing.

Riverway worked from 8am to 8pm for 2 days to keep tenants from too much disruption.They were calm and that helped me stay calm. All unexpected problems, as you might imagine would happen in such a job, were dealt with and resolved as they occurred. They did great job, all is functioning properly, and we will be using them again!

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It was all quick and smooth, and arrived on time on the day stated. I was within 3 days of my  phonecall. Performed what I asked and completed the job quickly. Have no issues at all with quality or cost.

The bill was a copy that I couldn't read. I had to ask for the original. it was only valid for 30 days. He charged by the word. I supplied the parts but he charged me for parts anyway. 
He worked for probably 20 minutes but he charged me for probably 2 hours he stood around and talked. 
I called him today to talk to him about it and he hung up on me. I called back to leave a message and he disconnected the call.
He comes off as a great man and seems trustworthy but is totally dishonest. 
He tries to make women look like they are idiots. He's not that professional. The main thing is that I was over charged and that he hung up when I called him. Hes a scam artist in  my book. I think that he has done some unethical practices. I believe that he takes advantage of women and the situation. He works dishonestly. 

Very knowledgeable, polite, we would use them again and recommend them to other people.

They're great. They did great. They did just fine. I would recommend them highly.

Workers arrived promptly and were extremely professional and pleasant. I was made aware of all my options. They worked very hard, they arrived at 7a and were finished by about 3p. I will use them for all my plumbing needs They were great.!

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